Time is Relative
by Denaliyasha
Summary: My take on postEpiphany. One month on Atlantis is 20 years in Sanctuary. If they'd waited, he might have been married, had kids, or ascended. Elizabeth and John talk.


Disclaimer: None of it is mine, people.

A/N: -Screams- It's 100 days all over again! -Hits writers over head- Complete with guy sleeping with a girl he then won't see again. -Sigh- Well, here's my post-Epiphany fic. By the way, I did the math. It took 18 hours to get him back (based on 3 seconds is 12 minutes).

**Time is Relative**

"I'm FINE!" John glared at Dr. Beckett. "Can I please go now?"

"Alright!" Carson shot him an exasperated look. "Get out, already!"

Suddenly all smiles, John hopped of the bed. "Thanks, Doc!" He hurried out of the infirmary in case Carson changed his mind.

Once outside, however, he slowed down. It was incredibly odd to be back. He'd spent six months in Sanctuary, and yet he'd returned to an Atlantis only 18 hours older than when he'd left it. People were glad to see him, sure, but they thought he was being overly exuberant, when really he hadn't seen them for half a year.

"Are you supposed to be up and around yet?" He paused, turning to look at Elizabeth as she leaned against her door.

"Of course. It's the 'harass your doctor till he kicks you out' theory of healing."

"I should have guessed." With a resigned sigh, she turned and headed back into her office. Confused, he followed her.

"Elizabeth? Are you alright?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You just seem..." He glanced around as if looking for the right word. "Upset."

"Well, I am. I'm upset that you won't let Carson do his job and check you out properly, and I'm upset that you're making light of something as serious as your health!" She turned to stare out the window.

He blinked. "I'm fine."

She whirled on him. "Then why are you favoring one hand?"

He winced. "It just tingles a bit."

She glared, a look he was sure had send uncooperative diplomats into a cowed silence. "Back to the infirmary. NOW."

"No. It's fading. I'll go easy on the heavy lifting for a day and it'll be back to normal." His expression brought to mind a small boy refusing to eat his vegetables.

She sat down behind her desk. "John..." She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "I can't have you on duty if you're injured. If you won't go back to the infirmary, will you promise me you'll take the day off? You spent six months in an accelerated time field. You shouldn't be back on duty yet."

"Yeah, it's crazy how fast that was. I mean, now my birthday isn't really how old I am." He grinned, but she didn't smile back. "A day was almost a year."

"And a month here is 20 years there." Her voice was tired, quiet. "If it had taken us much longer, you would probably have married, had a family, maybe even ascended. If it'd taken us much longer, we might never have known what happened to you."

"Hey, now!" Her look scared him. Elizabeth was a fighter, not a defeatist. "I'm fine!"

"YOU might be, but I'm not! I don't want to feel like I've lost you again, damn it!" She stood, hands on her desk, eyes flashing. "Don't EVER do that to me again, do you hear?"

And then he was around the desk, hugging her like she was the only thing keeping him from breaking into a million pieces. She suspected that it was really the other way around; if he'd let her go, she'd shatter. Her hands curled around to grip his shoulders.

"God, Elizabeth, I'm sorry." He was whispering into her neck, dark head bent to hers, face turned into her hair. It wasn't until he said, "Please, please don't cry," that she realized that tears were sliding down her cheeks. She just buried her face deeper in the junction of his neck and shoulders.

It seemed like ages had passed before she loosened her death grip on his shirt. "Sorry for soaking you." She stepped back and twitched her uniform shirt back into place. Before she could do anything else, he reached out one large, calloused hand and gently brushed at the lines of moisture on her face.

"I missed you too." He pushed her hair back behind her ears, then raked a hand through his own, mussing it up more than normal. "I couldn't figure out why you'd abandoned me."

"I didn't..."

He shook his head. "I know. But at the time, it hurt."

"We would have been there if we could."

"I know." He could see the guilt she was feeling, and he reached for her again with the sudden need to wipe it from her eyes. "I know, Liz, I know."

She leaned into the hug, no longer desperate now, but seeking reassurance.

"Rodney didn't think I should go through that field."

"Why did you?" He pulled back, searching her face. "You're the leader of Atlantis. You are irreplaceable. I'm not."

"You are not replaceable!" She glared at him. "What was I supposed to do, sit here are break things?"

"Of course not." He grinned despite himself. Leaning forward, he wrapped one arm around her and pressed his lips against her forehead. And they stayed like that until Rodney called Elizabeth to ask her about some obscure regulations on testing on human subjects.

As she answered the best she could, John smiled gently and brushed a final hand through her hair before leaving the room whistling. Elizabeth watched him go, thinking he looked suspiciously happy.

And why shouldn't he be? He had a date to plan and a certain busy base commander to trick into taking time off to join him.


End file.
